Beach cleaning machine



Sept. 14, 1937.

I W. T. HOOFNAGLE El AL BEACH CLEANING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 H s E Rm N M R T 0 M E T Wm A w in Se t. 14, 1937.

V W. T. HOOFNAGLE ET AL BEACH CLEANING. MACHINE Filed Jun 10, 1936 3 Sheets Sheet ,2

mvgmons fiearge Ma/vese "am/Ham 7THoofn4g/e.

p 1937. w. T. HOOFNAGLE ET AL 2,093,148

BEACH CLEANING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS deorge Ma/vese MY/[am Z'fiwmag/e.

Patented Sept. 14, 1931 UNITED STATE amen CLEANING MACHINE William T. Hoofnagle, Glen Ridge; N. J., George Malvese, New Hyde Park, N. Y.

' Application June 10, 1936, Serial No. 84,404 I This invention relates to apparatus for clearing litter from'beaches, playground areas and the like, where the surface to be cleared has slight irregularities and comprises largely a soft surface 5 suchassand.

The practicein clearing beacheswhere large numbers of people congregate has largely been a manual process, where;a large crewaof men with rakes and hand tools clear upthe-litter such as papers, bottles, food remnants and the like, to make the beach surface clean and presentable for future use. This process has been a rather expensive one, particularly where large beach areas are concerned. t I l5 It is an object of this invention to providea machine which is capable of picking up the miscellaneous litter which accumulates-on. a beach, anddelivering it to wagons which-are towed behind the machine. Certain technical difliculties present themselves in theconstructionof sucha machine, sincethe litter to be cleaned up is so heterogeneous as to require special provisions for properly taking care of it. f

In the form of the invention which we have evolved, the machine comprises a more or less standard form of track laying tractor or vehicle upon which is mounted a conveyor belt having a plurality of sets of rakes extending around the belt, one part of this belt being swingable to engage the beach surface ,withvarying degrees of pressure, so that the rakes, as they progress around the conveyor belt, will effectively pick up bottles, paper of various sizes and other matter which is likely to be dropped upon the beach by pleasure seekers. The rakes carried by the conveyor belt must be of a width sufllcientlto clear a fairly wide swathe along the beachwe have found that a width of approximately eight feet is satisfactory in this respect. The operator of the cleaning machine mustnecessarily be forwardly located thereon, ahead of the conveyor apparatus, so we have devised the conveyor superstructure in such a manner "as to permit the operator to steer and control the vehicle while being located at the extreme forward end thereof; The tractor is adapted to tow a wagon which receives the litter discharged by the conveyor belt, and a suitable stripping device 'is provided at the rear end of the machine, over thewagon, by which material impaled upon the tines of the rakes is stripped from the conveyor belt and discharged into the 'wagon. l 1

Further objects of the invention are to provide a proper form of rake organization which will effectively gather up beach litter; to provide a the machine;

stripping mechanism to, remove matter from the rakes which will notbe apt to clog up and-cause faulty operation ofthe machine; to provide a forwardly located control position for an operator by which he may regulate the action of the machine; 5 ,to'provide means by which sand may be; sifted from the litter which is gathered, bywhich the amount of sand delivered tothewagon rearwardly of the machine is minimized; to 'providemeans by which that part of thezconveyorbeltwhich addresses the beach surface may-be adjusted as to height with respect to the beach surface; toprovide a pilot truck forward of the apparatus upon which part of the weight of the;apparatus-is supported. 1 v v a 'sFurther objects ofrthe invention will become apparent as thedescriptionproceeds-ih connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of theforward part of Fig. 2 is a side elevation'of the; rearward part of the machine showing diagrammatically the cart'or wagon which isrtowed rearward, thereof to receive discharged litter; v a

.Fig. 3 is a plan, partly broken away, of the for- 25 ward part of the machine: Fig. 4 isa plan, partly. broken away, oftherearward part of the machine; and

' Fig.5 is a front elevation of"the:for,ward part ofthe'conveyor system, rearward of the driver's 30 position. l I I The beachcleaning apparatus is superimposed upon a standard form of't'rack-laying tractor or motor-vehicle designated generallyas l0, which in forward of the tractor Similar beams l-i are located longitudinally thereabove, but extend rearwardly of the tractor, the beams l4 and II being 45 interbraced by members It and cross-braced by members I'lto provide a unitary, skeleton framework. As shown in Figs. 1' and 3, across beam 18 joins the forward ends of the laterally spaced ,lowerbeams l4, and braces l9 extend forwardly from the beam II to carry caster wheelslll. These wheels are not steerable, since steering of the vehicle is accomplished by differential movement of the track-laying units |I,1under the control 'of the operator. When the machine is turned by such differential track action, the front end of the machine, with the casters 25, may swing at will without imposing an undue turning drag. Centrally of the beam l5; an operator's seat 2| is placed and various controls, to be described later, are placed within his easy reach. Along the top beams l5 are spaced a plurality of shaft hangers 22, and between opposed hangers, shafts 23 are placed. Similar shaft hangers 24, with cooperating shafts, are anchored to the under side of the beams l5 for a purpose which will shortly become apparent. Each of the shafts 23 with the corresponding lower shafts, carries idler wheels 25 to support Y belts 25 comprising part of the conveyor system. A driven-cross-shaft 21 joins the rearwardmost shaft hangers 22, over the rearward end of which the several belts 25 are adapted to pass, theupper' run of the belts being moved rearwardly; whereby the lower run of the belts moves forwardly, the forward movement being supported by the occasionally spaced shafts with their idler pulleys borne by the shaft hangers.24.- The idler wheels carried by the shaft hangers 24 are of large size, as indicated at 28. The forwardmost shaft 23, on the beam l5, provides a point at which the run of theconveyorbelts drops forwardly and downwardly on a movable frame 29 pivoted on the same centers as the -'for'wardmost shaft hangers 25, this frame 29 being provided at its lower end withbearings 30 having a cross shaftll and wheels 32, around which the beltmay run.. A hydraulicjack 33 is pivoted between the frame 25' and the" forwardmost frame member l5, by which the frame 29 may be swung about itspivot so that its lower end is carried atvarying distances fromthe ground. surface over which the machine operates. i

The belts 2,5 may be in the form of roller chains, and correspondingly, wheels 34. on the rear transverse shaft 21 are in the form of sprockets, by which thesechains are all driven at unitary speed. Rakes 35 are carried at longitudinally spaced intervals along the several belts25, the rakes comprising cross members 35 carrying a plurality of spaced tines 31, the form of these tines being best shown inthe lower part of the belt, as in Fig. l-the tines extend substantially normal from the belt run and then are bent forwardly whereby-they may dlZzllltO'thG sand to entrain litter, to then carry it upwardly on the conveyor. :As the conveyor belt moves upwardly as indicated by the arrow in.Fig 1, the sandmay sift therefrom, so that as the litter reaches the top substantially horizontal belt run, most of the sand has sifted therefrom. 0n passing over the forwardmost shaft 22, the litter is carried rearwardly. along the belt and a flat metal shield "is provided thereunder to'prevent the dropping of litter upon the tractor. V

The lower end'of the frame 25 may be .provided with a packing comb 59, this being carried by a frame 45 which is biased as to its action, by springs 4| acting through a lever linkage 42 and a rod 45 provided with a turnbuckle 44 for proper adjustment. A- cam 42?, on the forward shaft 25, acts on thelever linkage "to raise and lower the pack- .ing comb 28 between the dotted and solid line positions of Fig. 1 as the machine progresses, which action serves to stuff matter into the conveyor and serves to prevent refuse being pushed ahead-thereof. a V

Mounted *rearwardly of the shaft 21, on the beams I5, is an'addm'oml mm a carrying stripper combs 45, the teeth of which are spaced to overlap the tines 31 on the conveyor belt, and to pass through the intertine spaces of said tines 31. This shaft 45 is driven from the shaft 21 by gearing 41, in opposite rotational sense, so that as the rakes pass around the shaft 21, the stripper combs 45 remove from the rakes litter which is carried thereby or impaled thereon. The teeth of thestripper combs 45 are provided with rubbertubes 45', slipped thereover, which tubes project beyond the ends of the respective teeth. The tubes act somewhat as flails to remove litter from the conveyor tines 31 and additionally, the high friction of the rubber pulls paper and other refuse oil the conveyor, leaving the latter cleaner, and causing less tearing of scrap paper than when the stripper teeth are left bare. As shown in Fig. 2, this stripper organization overhangs the rearward end of the machine. A more or less conventional trailer hitch 45 mounted on the rear of the tractor, is adapted to have attached to it, a trailer wagon 49, the rearward end of which lies below the stripper 45, so that all matter dumped therefrom drops into the wagon. The machine is caused to bear principally on the ground in'the region of the front part of the-track-laying'u'nits II, since a spring 48' tends to pull the rear part'of the conveyor frame down toward the hitch 45, thereby relieving some of the weight from the idler wheels 20 and permitting easy turning of the whole machine about the forward end of the track-laying units as a fulcrum.

In order to drive the conveyor and stripper organization above described, we provide a gearing organization starting from the normal power takeoff "55 with whichthe tractor is provided. From the power takeoff; a roller chain 5| drives a sprocket 52 mounted on a shaft 53 carried by the-frame I4i5-l5. Coacting'bevel gears 54 drive a transverse shaft 55 upon which is mounted a sprocket serving to drive a chain 55 which extends rearwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to thedrive shaft 21," by which the conveyor system is operated. As shown in Fig. 2, a handle 51 is arranged, through suitable linkage, to operate-the normal power take-off clutch provided onthe'tractor, this handle 51 being located at the rear of the machine, since it is unnecessary tooperate this as one of the normal controls. v

In Figs. 1 and 3, we show the various control levers, adjacent the seat 2|, by which the machine is operated. The two levers each designated as 55 serve to clutch and declutch the track units ll of the tractor through cross shafts 55 operating on cables 55 guided over suitable sheaves to approach the standard steering levers 5| from the rear, as shown in Fig. 4. Return springs 52 serve to urge the steering'levers 5| forwardly at an times, so that by pulling the cables 55,.the' levers 5i are'moved selectively rearwardly to accomplish steering of the apparatus. 'Afoot-operated clutchpedal 53, adjacent the seat 2| as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, is connected toa cross-shaft 54 having a lever end at 55 clevised toa pull. rod 55 passing along the right hand side of the machine, as shown. At its rearward. end, the pull rod5 5 connects to a cross-shaft 55 having a lever 59 towhich a cable 15 is attached, the latter passing around a sheave 1| to a standardtraotor-clutch lever 12. This clutch serves to disconnect the power plant of the tractor from any driving connection with conveyor from and to either the track-laying units H or the conveyor system.

A spring'l2' serves to assistin returning the lever 12 to its normal position when the cable 10 is relaxed. 1 1

Another essential control of the vehicle isthe throttle lever '13 adjacent the operators seat 2|, this being connected to asuitable cross shaft operated on a pull rod 14 operating through a rearwardly located cross-shaft 15 to actuate a standard throttle control 16. 3 I

The gear shifting is controlled by two levers l1 and 18 adjacent the seat 2| shown in Figs. 1 and 3, which coact through push-pull rods 19 and extending rearwardly of the machine to control the gear shift lever 8|, indicated-centrally of Figs. 2 and 4; The shift lever 8| normally has an 'H movement to take care of reverse, and first, second andthird forward speeds. With the remote control necessitated by the forward drivers position, and since all of the controls asindicated in the preceding descriptionmust necessarily be i 1 carried'around the outside of the frame members to avoid interference with the conveyor beltgit becomes necessary to'provide a dual arrangement by which the one gear shift lever 18 accomplishes lateral movement of the shift 'lever Bi in'the slot of its H, while the other lever 11 effects, through the rod .19, forward and rearward movement of the shift lever 8| inthe lateral legs of its'H slot. The means by which thisis accomplished is clear in Fig. 4, wherein the control rod 80' terminates-at '82 ,in a bellcrank- 83, having a slotted end- 84 engaging a pin on' the rod 85. Thus, it is apparent that when'the rod 80 is moved forwardlyand rearwardly, the rod 85 is moved laterally. When the other control rod 19 is moved forwardly and rearwardly, it eflects forward and rearward movement of the rod 85 and thus of the shift lever 8!. f

The above described controls are those'which are necessary to normal operation of the vehicle as a tractor. One additional control is required for'the hydraulic jack 33 to raise and lower the contact with the ground. This is accomplished by the lever 86, shownin Figs. land 3, which lever acts directly upon a fluid pump 81 suitably connected to the jack. 'A button .88 on the pump 81 serves to relieve pressure from the fluid system by which the jack is caused to move in theopposite direction from that. in which it is moved by applying pressure by operating the lever 86. 4

The ignition control'for-the tractor is carried to a lateral point ahead of one of the track units II, as shown at in Fig.1. Cranking of the tractor engine is accomplished by a crank 9| car ried to a point adjacent to the ignition switch, this crank acting through bevel gears 92,shown in Fig. 4. The normal dog clutch organization of the engine cranking system is actuated by a lever 93 adjacentzthe-crank 9|, acting through a rod 94 to press the said normal clutch into engagement.

The above described organization, although it might appear to be complicated, is actually relatively simple. The various control elements for the tractor are simply carried forward around the sides of the machine to a point adjacent the driver's position. The conveyor itself is operated by the tractor engine and serves to pick up litter before it has been pressed down by the tracklaying units, carrying it upwardly and rearwardly over the machine to be discharged into the wagon 49. The forward position of the driver permits shield the operator and 'to improve the appearance of the machine,'a fairing 95 passes upwardly and rearwardly from therear' of the driver's seat over the conveyorbelt, to a rearward point adjacentthe stripper 46. This fairing also serves to prevent litter being carried by the conveyor from being dispersed'bywind.

In actual tests'of a machine built in accordance with the foregoing specification, successful results have'been obtained, and it has"*be'en"demonstrated that the machine is capable ofeifec tively cleaning beach" areas in much less'time and with'much 'less work than is possible by manual cleaning efiort; Likewise, the-machine has proveditself to do an effective job of cleaning, removing all objectionable litter in the form of bottles,.papers and other trash. It was'found necessary to'do some experimental workwith respect to the pitch of therakes mounted'on the conveyor belts,"in orderto pick up all the litter, while at the same time minimizing the amount of sand picked up by-the' machine-if the teeth of the rakes are tooclosely spaced, a considerable amount ofsand is 'apt to be picked-up, particularly where the 'sand'is damp, and conversely, if the teeth are too widely spaced on the "rakes, the rakes will not pick up'smaller articles, paper andthe like.

While we have describedour invention in de tail in its present preferred embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled'intheart, after understanding our invention, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from aim in'the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes.

What is claimed is: I v

-1. A beach cleaning machine comprising, in combination, a vehicle having a prime mover, a conveyorbelt, fimeans supporting said conveyor belt to carry'same from a point level with the ground, ahead of said vehicle, upwardly and rearwardly over said vehicle, means to drive said conveyor belt from said prime'mover,-an extension on'said-vehicle projecting ahead oi said conveyor belt, an operators' seat on said extension ahead of said conveyor, and controls for said prime mover mounted adjacent said operator's seat.

2. A ground cleaning machine comprising, in combination, a vehicle having a prime mover, a pick-up device carried by and disposed ahead of saidvehicle, at substantially ground level, for picking up loose objects over which the machine is adapted to travel, and a-conveyor system extending rearwardly and over said vehicle, from said pick-up device, for discharging the objects at the rear of said machine.

3. A ground cleaning machine comprising, in combination, a vehicle having a prime mover, a pick-up device carried by and disposed ahead of said vehicle, at substantially ground level, for picking up loose objects over which the machine is adapted to travel, a conveyor system extending rearwardly and over said vehicle, from said pickup device, rear of said machine, an extension projecting ahead of said conveyor, and an operator's seat the spirit orscope'thereof. We

for discharging the objects at the mounted on said extension ahead of said conveyor.

4. In a beach cleaning machine, in combination, a track-laying tractor, beams on either side of said tractor, a shaft extending between said beams substantially over the front end ,of said tractor, a swingable frame carried on said shaft and extending downwardly and forwardLv ahead of said tractor, means for raising or lowering said frame, and a conveyor belt having rakes carried thereby, borne by said swingable frame and said beams to run upwardly from said swingable frame and over the top of said tracton,

5. In a beach cleaning machine, in combination, a track-laying tractor, beams on either side of said tractor, a shaft extending between said beams substantially over the front end of said tractor, a swingable frame carried on said shaft and extending downwardly and forwardly ahead of said tractor, means for raising or lowering said frame, a, conveyor belt having rakes carried thereby, borne by said swingable frame and said beams to run upwardly from said swingable frame and over the top of said tractor, and stripper combs at the rearward portion of said tractor for stripping objects carried by said conveyor belt.

I 6. In a beach cleaning apparatus, in combination, a vehicle, a conveyor belt, means for supporting-said conveyor belt on said vehicle including devices for holding a portion of said conveyor belt in close proximity to the ground ahead of said vehicle, and a cart towed by said vehicle into which objects carried by said conveyor belt are adapted to be discharged.

'7. In a beach cleaning machine, in combination, a vehicle, a conveyor belt running forwardly and rearwardly over and in front of said vehicle, said conveyor belt being wider than the vehicle per se, extensions on the vehicle extending ahead of said conveyor belt, an operators position located onsaid extensions, and control apparatus for said vehicle extending therefrom, around said conveyor belt, to said operator's position.

8. A beach cleaning machine comprising a frame, accommodations for an operator at the extreme forward end of said frame, 'a conveyor system comprising a belt having substantially parallel upper and lower runs, means for supporting said belt, certain of said means holding the belt in close proximity to the ground behind said operators position and other of said means carrying said belt upwardly and rearwardly of the machine, and a prime mover for the machine inthe rearward lower portion thereof, whereby a portion of saidconveyor passes over the prime mover.

9. A beach cleaning machine comprising a frame, accommodations for an operator at the extreme forward end of said frame, -a conveyor system comprising a belt having substantially parallel upper and lower runs, means for supporting said belt, certain of said means holding the belt in close proximity to the ground behind said operator's position and other of said means carrying said belt upwardly and rearwardly of the machine, a-prime mover for the machinein the rearwardlower portion thereof, whereby a portion of said conveyor passes'over the prime mover, and a stripper mechanism at the rear of, and operating on, said conveyor.

1 0. In a beach cleaning machine, a driven conveyor comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse rakes having teeth, and a stripper for removing litter carriedby said =rakes comprising a comb having tines spaced to move in the interdental spaces of the conveyor rakes, means to move said stripper through said rakes at a linear speed greater than the linear speed of said conveyor, and a resilient high friction extension on each stripper tine for cushioning en,- gagement with litter carried by the rakes to effect gradual removal of said litter by frictional-,engagernenttherewith.v 1

11. A ground cleaning machine comprising, in combination, avehicle having a prime-mover, a pick-up device carried byand disposed ahead of said vehicle, at substantially ground level, "for picking up loose objects over which the machine is adapted to travel, a conveyor systemextending rearwardlyand over said vehicle, from said pickup device, for discharging the objects atthe rear of said machine, and an enclosure for said conveyor system to prevent dispersion of objects carried thereby. p

12. Ina ground cleaning machine, in combination, a vehicle, anoperators position, having controls for the machine, at the extreme forward end thereof, a carrier extending from substantially ground level upwardly and rearwardly relative to the machine, a conveyor belt running over said carrier having means for picking up objects on the ground, a stripper at the-upper rearward end of said carrier for stripping objects from the belt, and a cart towed directly behind the vehicle and below said stripper into .which objects removed from the beltby said stripper are directly discharged. i

13. In a ground cleaning machine, in combination, a vehicle,- an operator's position, having controls for the machine, at the extreme forward end thereof, a carrier extending from substantially ground level upwardly and rearwardly relative to the machine, a conveyor belt running over said carrier having means for picking up objects on the ground, a stripper 'at the upper rearward end of said carrier for stripping objects-from the belt, a cart towed directly behind the vehicle and.

below said stripper into which objects removed from the belt by said stripper are directly discharged, and an enclosure for said conveyor belt to prevent dispersion of objects carried thereby,

WILLIAM 'r. noommom. GEORGE MALVESE. 

